HANDBOOK ON ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN UGANDA Editors: Kenneth Kakuru Volume I Irene Ssekyana HANDBOOK ON ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN UGANDA Volume I If we all did little, we would do much Second Edition February 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................................... v Forward ........................................................................................................................................................................vi Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 A Brief History of Environmental Law ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Religious, Cultural and historical roots .................................................................................................. 1 1.1.2 The Green Revolution ............................................................................................................................ 2 1.1.3 Environmental Law in the United States of America (USA) ................................................................. 3 1.2 Environmental Law in Africa ........................................................................................................................ 5 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AS IT EVOLVED FROM THE ENGLISH LAW OF TORT ......................................... 6 2.1 The English Law of Tort .............................................................................................................................. 6 2.2 The Law of Trespass .................................................................................................................................... 7 2.3 The Tort of Nuisance .................................................................................................................................... 8 2.4 Nuisance and Negligence ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.5 None Natural User of Land ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ............................................................................................... 17 3.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 17 3.1 The Precautionary Principle ........................................................................................................................ 17 3.1.1 The Precautionary Principle and the Courts ................................................................................................ 20 3.2 The Concept of Proportionality ................................................................................................................... 23 3.3 The Public Trust Doctrine ........................................................................................................................... 24 3.3.1 Evolution of the Public Trust Doctrine ........................................................................................................ 25 CHAPTER FOUR ....................................................................................................................................................... 29 GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................................................................ 29 4.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 29 4.1 The Social and Political Setting of Environmental Law .............................................................................. 29 4.2 Constitutional and Administrative Location of Environmental Law: .......................................................... 30 4.3 Environmental Law within the wider policy context ................................................................................... 30 4.4 Determining the mission of legislation. ....................................................................................................... 31 4.5 Prospective Approaches to Environmental Management ............................................................................ 31 4.6 Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) .................................................................................................. 32 4.7 Environmental Audits: ................................................................................................................................. 32 4.8 The Institutional Arrangement for Environmental Administration ............................................................. 33 4.9 The relevance of sectoral legislation ........................................................................................................... 33 4.10 Framework Legislation ................................................................................................................................ 33 4.11 The Environment not being a free good must be paid for: .......................................................................... 34 4.12 Polluter or User Pays Principle .................................................................................................................... 35 4.13 Novel Approaches for Enforcement of and Compliance to Environmental Laws ...................................... 35 4.14 Monitoring ................................................................................................................................................... 36 4.15 The Style of Legislation .............................................................................................................................. 36 4.16 Implementing International Obligations ...................................................................................................... 37 4.15 Application of International Law ................................................................................................................. 37 CHAPTER FIVE ......................................................................................................................................................... 39 INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT ................................................................ 39 5.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 39 5.1 Principles of International Legal Protection of the Environment ................................................................ 40 5.2 Objects of International Legal Protection of the Environment .................................................................... 41 5.3 International Legal Protection of the Environment of the World Oceans and its Resources ....................... 42 5.4 International Legal Protection of Multinational Rivers ............................................................................... 44 5.5 International Legal Protection of the Earth's Atmosphere ........................................................................... 45 ii 5.6 International Legal Protection of Circum-Terrestrial Space ........................................................................ 46 5.7 International Legal Protection of the Animal and Plant World ................................................................... 46 5.8 The Protection of the Environment from Radioactive Contamination ........................................................ 47 5.9 Activities of International Organizations in the Protection of the Environment .......................................... 48 CHAPTER SIX ........................................................................................................................................................... 50 CONSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: GIVING FORCE TO FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN AFRICA ...................................................................................................................................................................... 50 6.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 50 6.1 Right to a Healthy Environment ................................................................................................................. 50 6.1.1 Cases Interpreting the Right to Life ....................................................................................................